The End of Madness
by Madame Pixie
Summary: The story views the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff. The scene is what occurs after Heathcliff confines himself to Catherine’s room and is found dead the following morning.


**The End of Madness**

The following is from the point of view of a third person, viewing the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff. The scene is what occurs after Heathcliff confines himself to Catherine's room and is found lifeless the next day.

"_Cathy, Cathy, where are you, come to me, my love, I am waiting." _

Heathcliff, Hermit, madman calls out, waiting for the woman to come. He has locked himself in the room, her room, he stands by the window, the old dark wood board littered with books, her books, placed on the sill.

His thoughts surrounding the woman, their childhood together, the Christmas feast in his prison, the games along the moors, the harsh words she told in secret to Ellen, of how she would never marry him. The love and joy in her eyes when he returned. That is his Cathy, the woman he remembers, the women he loves and the woman he lost.

He is waiting for her to come, he has seen her, and she is haunting him, following him, watching him. She taunts him into sleeplessness, and pushes him to come to her. She gives him a choice, life alone or death with her, as if it is a choice, he laughs at her choices, she knows he needs her.

Heathcliff moves from his space at the window, night has fallen and the moors are now plunged into darkness, unseeable to the mortal beings. She would be coming soon. He moves to the sole chair in the room, a rocking chair and he rocks back and forth. His eyes fall upon an object, lying upon the floor. He reaches for it, a book, dropped carelessly and unknowingly by the last temporary occupant of the room. The book defaced by scratchy writings appears nothing but a childhood novel, read many times, and despoiled with childish humours.

In fact it is a blank notebook, well almost blank, a few lines on the first page show writings of a feminine cursive style. Heathcliff recognises the scrawl, it was her, her writing, her journal, unused but for one sentence.

"Heathcliff has left, gone, he doesn't love me, tomorrow I will marry Edgar, he will never leave me."

The man, Heathcliff waits on, effected by these words, reflecting on his life, his achievements, his vengeance. He suffered at the hands of a tormentor for many years, bearing the humiliation for her, to be with her. He was even treated harshly by her at that one point, ignorant of the true meaning behind her cruel words, he had left her, thrown her into the hands of Linton, instead of embracing her as his own. But soon he will have her, he will be with her, Cathy would come for him, and this time he would go with her.

She had first appeared when a stranger entered the heights, entered her room. After Linton's death, his son's death, she had appeared, perhaps weary of her daughters fate at Heathcliff's hands. He had known she would come, had waited days that had seemed like weeks, and months like years. That first night she had escaped him, appearing only for the stranger, and leaving him, a reminder of her departure and absence from him. She was showing him the hurt she had felt, those years that he had been gone. She didn't wait for him, but he would now wait for her, she is coming for him, she promised she would.

He has fasted for nearly a week, food never held any pleasure for him, and now it was no longer even a need, he is going to be with her soon that is all that matters. Ellen has noticed his abnormal behaviours, but even he could not contain the happiness of the thought of what was to come. Delirious from hunger he spends most of the time waiting for her, or talking to her and biding his time by her grave.

Heathcliff hears and feels her presence, footsteps gliding along the path, soft tapping at the window. She is there, his waiting is at an end, soon she will leave again, but this time he will follow. He can see her form in the window and she beckons him over.

He lets her into the room, he realises that she is not real, merely a ghost, but this presence, looks like her, acts like her, and shows him the everlasting love that is theirs. She listens as he moans and complains about what fate has given them. She never speaks but somehow he knows exactly what she is thinking, how she thinks he should act.

She knows that the time has come, that this time he will be leaving with her. This is her last visit to him, neither of them will be alone again, they will forever have each other.

He sits down on the bed and watches as she climbs in the window, her ghost always amazes him, with movements exactly like a living being. He had tried to touch her once, clasp her hand but she had avoided his contact, perhaps ghosts were untouchable.

She sits in his vacated chair, her charming smile displayed only for him. Her ghost always looks the same, dressed the same, always smiling. He remembers when he first saw it, for once she had been waiting, by her grave for his visit. He had seen her, knowing she was not real, yet not fearing her presence, he had known she would come to haunt him, until they could be together.

"_The time has come, we shall be together Cathy,"_ He says and smiles.

She leans over him, their eyes locking together, knowing that from now on it will be the two of them, together. She gently places her icy lips upon his, as he breathes his last breath, life leaving his cold, harsh body, giving life to the two entwined souls.

The souls leave the body, leave the place of the living, leave the next generation to live and love. They enter the moors, whispering of the eternity to come, an eternity filled with mischief and love together, never alone.


End file.
